Tiger Woods finished down the field at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. The American failed to build on an excellent first round of 68, following up with scores of 73, 70 and 71 to finish on six under par for the tournament and tied in 41st place overall.

After a forgettable performance at the Farmers Insurance Open, an event which saw him miss the 54-hole cut after racking up a third-round 79 at Torrey Pines, Tiger will be happy to make through to the weekend this time round.

But he bemoaned his luck after the conclusion of his final round and didn't seem too disheartened about his overall performance in Dubai:

“The long game was certainly frustrating last wk. & we got that figured out. I hit so many good putts & just kept lipping everything out."

His second showing of the season certainly represented an improvement, and he will be hoping to build on this solid performance as the season gets into full swing in the coming weeks.

Prior to the turnament, Woods admitted adapting his game due to the pitfalls of old age. The world No. 1, who is now 38 years old, admitted he is working on making his backswing shorter after the latest tournament got underway. Per Sky Sports:

I've always played my best from a shorter position.

Looking back at my younger days on tour it as even shorter than it is now, the only difference is I can't wheel on it like I used to.

Whether or not the slight adjustment will make a significant difference remains to be seen for the remainder of the campaign, but there were certainly signs here that his game is on the up and 2014 could be a prosperous year for the world No.1.

Day 4 Recap

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After a gritty third round, Tiger Woods shot a one-under-par 71 to finish on six-under-par at the conclusion of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

He finished in tied 41st position after another solid round, and a respectable finish here gave an indication that his performance is on the up after a torrid time in his previous tournament: The Farmers Insurance Open.

It was a round that started in particularly solid, if not spectacular fashion as the World No.1 shot par scores for the first seven holes. A bogey at the fifth took him back to five under before he birdied the par five tenth to restore parity.

His round threatened to derail after successive bogeys at 14 and 15, but a stellar finish saw Tiger birdie the last three holes in succession and finish a solid weekend with a marevellous flourish.

Elsewhere, Scotland's Stephen Gallacher won the tournament by one shot. After being well placed following the third round. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy fell out of contention.

Day 2 Recap

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After a sound start the day prior, Tiger Woods was out of form on Day 2 at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. He shot a one-over 73, hit bogeys on holes six, nine and fourteen and hit just two birdies to enter the clubhouse eight shots behind leader Rory McIlory.

Woods simply looked out of tune on the day and failed to make a putt over 10 feet. He once again struggled to find the fairway consistently.

Woods talked about his round after the fact, according to the Golf Channel:

"I need a lot wind on the weekend and two great rounds." Tiger on his chances at Dubai.

Day 1 Recap

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Tiger Woods shot a solid four-under 68 during the Omega Dubai Desert Classic's opening round to enter the clubhouse five shots behind Rory McIlory, who eased toward the head of the pack with a total of 63.

McIlroy enjoyed seven pars and an eagle on the third hole to take the initiative, but his Nike partner couldn't keep up with the pace. Woods' drive appeared loose, his concentration seemed a little off, but the veteran golfer kept his cool for the most part.

His driver was his biggest obstacle on Thursday, sending multiples drives into both the left and right rough, as well as the desert on three occasions.

Woods made par four times during his front nine and appeared to have his putting range sorted. Starting on the back nine during the first round of play, Woods parred all nine holes on the way back in, suggesting he isn't quite in tune just yet.

Even so, the improvement over his Farmers Insurance Open performance is there for all to see. Woods knows he still has to tighten up and try to improve his play on approach to the green, but he can be happy with his opening day's work.

The player confirmed as much, as reported by the Press Association via The Guardian:

I played all right today. I probably could have got a couple more out of it. I didn't hit a bad putt today which was nice, it was just that sometimes the grain grabbed it pretty hard at the end.

McIlroy's excellent start puts him three ahead of the rest, but with Woods starting to show a smidgen of form, there's a long way to go just yet.

Here's a look at the first-round leaderboard (correct as of Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6 a.m. ET/11 a.m. GMT):